KHMA
KHMA is a DuMont affiliate serving the New Orleans and Baton Rouge region. Although the city license is in Houma, LA, KHMA bases itself from the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rough. Broadcasting on channel 11 in New Orleans, and channel 12 in Baton Rouge, KHMA is owned and operated by Journal Media Group. Launched as an independent 1972, the station was in financial trouble from the station and over a year, the station struggled. In 1973, Journal Media Group bought the station and turned it to a DuMont affiliate. Due to DuMont having no affiliates in the gulf coast other than KHMA, DuMont asked Journal Media if they could boast their signal so that the gulf coast could watch KHMA, and Journal Media did as DuMont requested. Due to WLZF being on channel 11 in Baton Rouge, KHMA's channel number is channel 12. History The FCC licensed channel 11 to St. Anthony TV Corporation in 1958, and the station was intended to be an ABC affiliate. In the 1960s, St. Anthony TV Corp. petitioned to move the station's transmitter to a point north of Houma near Geismar, LA so that the station could also serve Baton Rouge (which did not have a primary ABC affiliate yet). After the FCC granted permission to move the tower, both Louisiana Television Broadcasting Corporation (owner of Baton Rouge's then-NBC affiliate WBRZ, (now Baton Rouge's ABC affiliate and that Baton Rouge's NBC affiliate is WVLA) and Guaranty Broadcasting Corporation (owner of Baton Rouge's CBS affiliate WAFB) filed an appeal to block the transfer. In 1965, the District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the two Baton Rouge stations, blocking the FCC's grant. On March 1, 1972 at 11:30 AM, the station signed on as an independent station serving the tri-city area of Morgan City, Thibodaux, and Houma and the ten-parish area south of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The first program the station aired was The Phyllis Diller Show. During weekdays, KHMA signed on at 11:30 AM and signed off at 12:30 AM, and, on weekends, it signed on at 8:00 AM and signed off at 12:30 AM. The station suffered financial trouble and by October 23, 1973, the station and St. Anthony TV Corp declared bankruptcy. Suddenly, Journal Media Group purchased the station from bankruptcy court. Immediately, Journal Media decided to make KHMA a network affiliate, and DuMont accepted KHMA as a DuMont affiliate. Programming Among the locally produced programs included a local news show (The Tri-City Report) twice a day, at 5:30 and 10 PM, sports (The Tri-City Accent), and a third show hosted by local farm authority George W. Shannon, as well as a program by local musician L. J. Foret. KHMA primarily aired old movies and syndicated reruns of programs. Among the programs the station aired include: The Phyllis Diller Show, Peyton Place, The Movie Game, The Munsters, Petticoat Junction, Hogan's Heroes, Dragnet, The Virginian, Lassie, America Sings, Time Tunnel, The Wild Wild West, The Name of the Game, The Andy Griffith Show, Happy and His Friends,Land of the Giants, Galloping Gourmet, Lost in Space, and Engelbert Humperdinck. The station also broadcast movies under the following monkiers: Cinema 11, Western Theatre, Adventure Theatre, Nightmare Theatre, The Late Movie, and Afternoon Theatre. After purchasing the station, Journal Media decided to keep the name of the newscast, as well as any local programming that KHMA had before Journal purchased the station. Eventually, the Tri-City Report would become the 10 O'Clock News. After becoming DuMont's affiliate the 10 O'Clock news was moved to 9 PM where they remained the no. 1 prime-time newscast in the region. Do you know where your children are? Starting in 1975, before the 9 O'Clock News, a voice would ask "It's 9 PM. Do you know where your children are?" The Houma City Council (along with both New Orleans and Baton Rouge City Councils) as the local TV affiliates if they could help enforce a youth curfew that was set in the region. So KHMA started asking that question as it led to the newscast. It lasted from 1975-2000. Since 2010, KHMA once again started asking the question. Category:Channel 11 Category:New Orleans Category:Baton Rouge, LA Category:Louisiana Category:DuMont network affiliates Category:Journal Media Group Category:Former independent stations Category:Houma Category:Thibadoux Category:Channel 12